Arthritis has become a very common word in society today, but what is it? Arthritis can be broken down to its word roots to find the definition. “Arthr” is a medical prefix meaning joint, while “itis” is a medical suffix relating to inflammation. For today’s blog, we are going to take things a step further to investigate osteoarthritis (you guessed it, “osteo” means bone). Joints are a meeting place for two bones in the body, with cartilage cushioning in between; the knee is a prime example.  Osteoarthritis (OA) occurs when the cushion between these two bones – the femur and tibia - breaks down, resulting in the infamous situation referred to as “bone on bone”. What many individuals do not realize is that this “bone on bone” situation does not always have to end in a knee replacement. A recent research article showed that participating in physical therapy is beneficial for individuals with knee OA, when compared with other medical treatment not involving physical therapy (Abbott et al., 2013). Even more great, this research study followed-up with patients one year after their physical therapy, and they were still reporting relief!  Obviously the quality of physical therapy is an important factor in this magical logarithm, and that’s where we come in at Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. Our great teams of physical therapists at APTSM are excited and willing to take on your “bone-on-bone” nightmare and get you back to dancing the night away.

Polka away Wisconsinites,

Dr. PJ

Reference:

Abbott JH, Chapple C, Pinto D, et al. (2013). Exercise therapy, manual therapy, or both, for management of osteoarthritis of the hip or knee: a randomized clinical trial. Osteoarthritis and cartilage, 21.